Car-coupling



(No Model.)

M. BRENNAN.

GAR GOUPLING.

Zay. L

No. 344,158. Patented June 22, 1886.

WITNESSES Nv PETERS. Phelmhagnpher. wnhingmn, D. C.

NITED STATES Fries.

ATENT CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 1\l'on 344,158, dated Ien: 22, 1886.

Application lcd March 30, 1886. Serial No. 197,12?. (No modul.)

v T all 1072/0771, t may concern:

Be it known that I, MATTHEW BRENNAN, of Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented a new and Improved Car-Coupler, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to the construction of an automatic ear-coupler of peculiar and novel construction, arranged so that the cars may be uncoupled without entering the spaces between the cars.

To the end named the invention consists of a coupling-pin mounted on a rock-shaft and arranged to be folded back so as to be disconnected from engagement with the couplinglink; and the invention further consists of a novel form of link-lifter, whereby the link may be lifted to a position to permit of the coup- Yling of the ears, as will be hereinafter exiplained, and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying` drawings,formingapart of this specilicatiomin which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both the figures.

Figure l. is a plan view of a portion of a ear provided with my improved form of coupler; and Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, partly in section, on line fr x of Fig. l.

In constructing such a coupler as is illustrated in the drawings above referred to the draw-bar A is provided with a draw-head, B, that is formed with a deep link-opening, a, which gradually enlarges toward the projecting end of the draw-head. In addition to the ordinary link-opening, a, there is a vertical slot or opening, e, of which the forward defining-wall, d, is substantially vertical, butthe rear walls are inclined, as clearly shown in Fig. 2, for a purpose that will be presently described. A coupling-pin, C, is carried by a rock-shaft, D, that is mounted in bearings e e, that are secured to the upper face of the drawhead, and this shaft Dis provided with leverarms E E, that are connected by chains F to lever-arms G G, that are carried by a rockshaft, II, that is held in bearings secured to the end ofthe body of the car, the projecting ends of this rock-shaft II being provided with lever-arms I. From the construction described it will be readily understood that by moving either of the lever-arms I to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2 the rock-shaft D will be turned so as to carry the couplingpin G to the posit-ion indicated in the lastnamed figure, thus permitting the couplinglink K to enter the draw-head.

In order that the coupling-link may bcliftcd to a position to enter the draw-head of the approaching car, I provide a link-lifter, which consists, essenti all y,of a U -bolt,L, formed with au eye, I, and arranged so that one of its arms may be passed through apertures formed in the lugs m, which project downward from the under side of the drawhead. The projecting ends of the arms of the bolt L are united by a strip, M, formed with an eye, o, the ends of the strip being aperturcd to allow for the passage of the bolt-arms, the projecting ends of said arms being engaged by nuts q q, and the position of the strip M heilig dened by shoulders p, as shown. Instead of providing a U- bolt, however, two single bolts and two strips, as M, might be employed without departing from the spirit of my invention.

The link lifter described is operated by means of a second rock-shaft, N, thatis mounted on the end of the car, and provided with forwardlyextending arms a n, which carry chains O O, that are secured within the eyes Z o. rlhe shaft N is also provided with rearwardly-extending lever-arms I), one of such arms being arranged on each side ofthe body of the car, so that by moving either one ofthe arms I) to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 2 the outer arm of the link-lifter will be drawn up against the under side ofthe coupling-link K, which link will consequently be raised to a position to enter the mouth of thc draw-head of the approaching car, as will be readily understood, and when not so raised the bolt Z will drop to about the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and will consequently be out of the way and will not be liable to injury. It will thus be seen that cars provided with my improved coupler andlink-lifter may be coupled without the necessity of entering the spaces between the ears, thus avoiding all risk of accidents to the trainmen.

From the peculiar mounting of the couplingpin C it will be understood that as theprojecting end ofthe link I. enters the mouth of the draw-head of the approaching car the said coupling-pin will be forced back to the position indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2, to allow the said projecting end of the link to fully enter the mouth of the drawhead, and after the link has passed the point of the pin the said pin will drop to its normal position, as shown in Fig. 2, thus coupling the ears together.

Having thus fully described my invention,

WhatI claim as new, and desire to secure by 1. The combination, with a draw-head formed with a vertical slot, c, of a coupling-pin, G, a rock-shaft, D, to which said pin is secured, lever-arms E, carried by the rock-shaft, a secondrock-shaft, H, mounted in bearingsse'- cured to the body of the ear, lever arms G, chains F, and manipulating-arms I, substan4 tially as described.

2. The combination, with the draw'head, of

lthe U-bolt L, having eye'l and journaled to formed with an eye, o, the strip M being held.

to the arms of the U-bolt by nuts q q, and a rock-shaft having arms n n and P, the arms n being connected to the `eyes Zo by chains O O, substantially as described.

M ATTHEV BRENNAN.

Vitnesses:

HERMAN D. MEYER, WILLAN GUDGE. 

